When the Indianapolis Colts signed Daniel Jones to a two-year, $88 million contract in March, they were betting heavily on his recovery from a torn Achilles.
At the start of Colts OTAs, that bet — and the growing Daniel Jones optimism surrounding it — is trending toward paying off.
Daniel Jones’ optimism gets an early boost
Jones participated in all individual drills during Wednesday’s session, offering Colts fans their first real glimpse at the quarterback’s recovery progress since he suffered the season-ending injury in December.
It was a significant day for Jones and the Colts alike. On his 29th birthday, the quarterback said he “absolutely” expects to be ready for Indianapolis’ season opener against the Ravens. Head coach Shane Steichen has spent much of the offseason praising Jones’ recovery process, calling his progress “phenomenal” while noting the quarterback has routinely spent from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the team facility rehabbing.
Now, the optimism surrounding Jones’ recovery is beginning to show up on the practice field.
All kinds of Daniel Jones video from practice today… pic.twitter.com/je6U5en4sc
— Joel A. Erickson (@JoelAErickson) May 27, 2026
Jones did not participate in 7-on-7 or 11-on-11 drills on Wednesday. That’s when Anthony Richardson — who’s presumably still on the trading block — took over as QB1, according to the Indianapolis Star.
Still, Jones appeared comfortable throwing the ball, and his movement during dropbacks and footwork drills provided another encouraging sign. Though he was not shown running in the videos, he moved well enough that, with roughly three and a half months remaining before Week 1, there’s a legitimate reason to believe he’ll be ready.
“It felt good,” Jones said after practice. “Definitely still work to be done and progress to be made. So, I think it’s just continuing to get stronger, continuing to run faster, cut harder. … We’ve hit all our marks so far.”
Week 1 readiness may not be the biggest concern
The bigger question may not be whether Jones is ready for Week 1, but how much explosiveness returns by then.
Mobility has always been a major part of Jones’ game. He has rushed for more than 2,300 yards and 20 touchdowns during his NFL career, with many of those yards coming on designed quarterback runs. Even if Jones is medically cleared by September, it would not be surprising if the Colts limit those runs early in the season.
Athletes recovering from torn Achilles injuries often need close to a year to fully regain pre-injury explosiveness, particularly players whose games rely heavily on mobility. It helps that Jones is still in his 20s, and he was operated on by Dr. Martin O’Malley, the specialist who performed a similar procedure on NBA star Jayson Tatum.
The Colts are betting on a comeback
Jones revitalized his career during his first season in Indianapolis, leading the Colts to an 8-2 start before a torn Achilles tendon and a fractured fibula in his left leg that likely contributed to derailing both his season and the Colts’ playoff hopes. Indianapolis lost its final seven games after Jones went down.
Originally selected by the Giants with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Jones never fully lived up to expectations in New York, where he went 24-44-1 as a starter. But before the injury, he appeared to have found new life in Indianapolis.
Jones set career bests with the Colts in yards (3,101), touchdown passes (19), completion percentage (68%), and passer rating (100.2).
The next major checkpoints in Jones’ recovery will come during mandatory minicamp from June 9-11 and again during training camp in July, when the Colts should get a much clearer picture of how close he is to resembling the quarterback who helped rescue their season before everything unraveled.
